This background section is provided for the purpose of generally describing the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor implicitly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
It is well established that spending time in nature can produce psychological benefits in humans. Thus, habitat soundscaping systems have been developed to simulate aspects of nature to capitalize on these benefits. Traditional soundscaping systems rely on noise generators and/or recurring loops of audio. Such repetition can sound artificial, as well as cause discomfort or fatigue to some listeners over extended periods of times. In addition, conventional soundscaping systems typically play static audio files that produce a uniform sound across an entire space, which does not provide a realistic simulation to immerse or convince a user they are in a natural setting.
One previous attempt at solving these issues was to include non-repetitive sounds in the static audio files themselves, e.g. birds chirping or particularly loud splashes of water. However, these sounds are typically easy for a human to notice, after only a few loops of the audio file. As a result, this exacerbates the issue and decreases user immersion.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide habitat soundscaping systems that are more immersive and comfortable, while reducing the fatigue associated with repetitive sounds of conventional systems.